Software is a powerful way to automate and make your business more robust and self-sustaining. Software can sometimes be an out-of-control cost or something that dramatically reduces costs throughout your business, especially in the long run. With some basic rules and guidelines, you can get a big advantage in your rollout and reduce problems in your business with the help of software.
If you are a fiber network operator today and are about to begin a more intensive phase in your rollout and customer growth, you are faced with a choice. You hire many new staff members to handle this growth, or you plan and invest in software to manage the growth as much as possible. Both options have their respective challenges, but software has the potential to build robust structural capital and contribute to profitability and cost savings in the longer term. Of course, one does not exclude the other, but there is a risk of scaling up with many additional staff early on and missing the importance of software.
What should you consider if you are in an early stage and want to invest in software? There are some basic rules and guidelines that are important to follow.
- Automate and offer self-service. Automation reduces the risk of errors and speeds up all your processes. Self-service reduces workload and gives customers a better and smoother experience. Think especially about how the need for automation will change as volumes grow. A specific process may rarely occur when you start up but will become extensive as you grow. For example, it may be about relocation scenarios, upgrades, or migrations. Therefore, it is essential to consider the need for automation in the future and not just now and include it in the plans. Automation requires that you can and have mapped your essential processes.
- Map and understand your most important processes. Prioritize and rank your different processes so you know which ones to automate first, and which ones can wait. A concrete way is to start with all "Happy Days" scenarios and then move on to "Rainy Days." But something more is required for all automated processes to work, which takes us to point three.
- Work with and prioritize having high data quality from day one. High data quality is essential for creating a flow in the organization and enabling automation and self-service. This goal must be directly high priority from the outset so that data quality is maintained and improved over time, so it doesn’t become an acute problem. A clear example for fiber network owners is maintaining address data quality that frequently has the potential to cause problems.
What are some concrete things to address, as an example?
First, the fulfillment process must automate the "Availability" process so the customer can easily understand what can be delivered to their address and when. In an "Open Access" or "Wholesale" business model, it is important that the service provider can do this on their own and without delay. Then it is important that the entire onboarding process is automated so that the customer can, for example, choose a convenient installation time and then place the order on their own without any manual intervention. Then, when the technician does the installation, the activation of the service should, of course, be done automatically. The invoice should be created and automatically sent to the customer when the service is activated. Then, when the customer is alive customer and has an active service, upgrades, relocations, and other changes to the service should also be automated, including any changes to the invoice.
Second, regarding assurance processes, customer service must have excellent troubleshooting tools that retrieve information from the network so that as few error cases as possible are forwarded to the technicians. It is also possible to give customers access to simplified troubleshooting tools. When faults affect many, receiving the alert and quickly understanding how many customers are affected and which services are essential. Then, with efficient tools, you must be able to inform these customers about the way forward to avoid an overload on customer service. You should also have preventive maintenance in the network where you measure capacity and analyze trends. When you identify a bottleneck or problem, it should be straightforward for a technician to replace an ONT, switch, or install a new card in a chassis. Managing tickets efficiently per your business processes is also essential. Here, you get a structured way to involve several departments and roles within the same process with clearly defined steps. Then, it is vital to monitor your ticket flow over a more extended period and analyze whether you have the suitable capacity in the longer term; trend analysis is needed here.
When it comes to the "Open Access" or "Wholesale" business model, the needs and requirements for automation and self-service are at least as great as for retail, but with the difference that here you need to offer a good and comprehensive API and portal that is created for this purpose. Generally speaking, the fiber operator business puts several fairly clear and concrete demands on a system, and therefore, you should always be careful if you decide to adopt a general IT system. There is a significant risk that the adaptations in general software will be greater than the system is from the beginning. It is easy to believe you are safe because you choose some established software. Still, it must preferably be adapted for fiber network owners as a vertical application. The other option is to look for systems that are built for fiber network operators from the start, instead of using a CRM tool and the supposed telecom dedicated add-ons heavily promoted by the vendor.
Automation and self-service require high data quality and simple processes. Automation and self-service give you the foundation to grow and manage future growth. Well-adapted and future-proof software will set you apart from competitors, create profitability, and create a good customer experience. Follow the simple but straightforward guidelines and experience a winning rollout.
